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Prevalence and molecular characterization of Rickettsia spp. in questing ticks from north-western Spain

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Abstract

Tick-borne rickettsioses, most of them belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG), have been recognized as important emerging vector-borne zoonotic diseases. In order to determine the presence of Rickettsia spp. in questing ticks from north-western Spain, 1056 Ixodes ricinus, 19 Dermacentor marginatus, 17 Dermacentor reticulatus and one Ixodes acuminatus were processed. Rickettsia DNA was detected by PCR targeting rOmpA and rOmpB genes. A total of 219 (20.7%) I. ricinus, 19 (100%) D. marginatus and four D. reticulatus (23.5%) were positive. The prevalence was significantly higher in I. ricinus from coastal areas and in winter. Five species were identified: Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia monacensis, Rickettsia raoultii, Rickettsia slovaca and “Candidatus Rickettsia rioja”. Our results reveal a significant presence of some pathogenic Rickettsia species in questing tick populations from this area which involves a noticeable risk of rickettsiosis. As R. raoultii, R. slovaca and “Ca. R. rioja” DNA were identified in I. ricinus, considered an unusual vector for these Rickettsia species, further studies are needed to unravel the role of that tick species in the maintenance and transmission of these three Rickettsia species in north-western Spain.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Programme for Consolidating and Structuring Competitive Research Groups (GRC2015/003; Xunta de Galicia, Spain) and by a predoctoral grant (European Social Fund, Secretaría Xeral de Universidades, Xunta de Galicia, Spain).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Patología Animal (Grupo INVESAGA), Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Pabellón I, Planta Baja, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Susana Remesar, Pablo Díaz, Alberto Prieto, José M. Díaz-Cao, Ceferino M. López, Rosario Panadero, Gonzalo Fernández, Pablo Díez-Baños & Patrocinio Morrondo

  2. Centro de Rickettsiosis y Enfermedades Transmitidas por Artrópodos Vectores (CRETAV), Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital U. San Pedro-CIBIR, Logroño, Spain

    Aránzazu Portillo, Sonia Santibáñez & José A. Oteo

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  1. Susana Remesar
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  2. Pablo Díaz
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  3. Aránzazu Portillo
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Correspondence to Pablo Díaz.

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Remesar, S., Díaz, P., Portillo, A. et al. Prevalence and molecular characterization of Rickettsia spp. in questing ticks from north-western Spain. Exp Appl Acarol 79, 267–278 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00426-9

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